“Shiva beyond borders: How a viral Persian bhajan reveals enduring India-Iran civilisational connect”, First Post, April 05, 2026
“The current geopolitical tensions in West Asia suggest a diplomatic breakdown of all sorts, implying an inevitable return to conflict, strategy, and power. But, in India, we see another trend simmering up along the sidelines of war, where social media is flooded with praise for a devotional song to Lord Shiva, or ‘Persian Shiva Bhajan’, as it is being called.
The soft, melodic Persian vocals of an Iranian girl praising Shiva, with visuals depicting historical links between India and Iran, elicit a sense of cultural intimacy that seemingly defies the logic of contemporary geopolitics. The song is not just another social media trend; it resonates deeply with the cultural connections between India and Iran that interestingly surface amid the geopolitical turbulence.
India has shown strategic restraint and sensible statecraft to protect its geopolitical, economic, and cultural relations with Iran. When globally the debates around international morality, war anxiety, and fragile supply chains intensify, this renewed interest and resurfacing of the India–Iran cultural ties force us to reconsider our understanding of international relations. International relations are not merely the state-centric theatre of events but the product of continuous interaction between society, history, and civilisations. International relations are characterised by state identities in flux……”
Read full article at firstpost.com
